Winstar Communications, Inc.
has announced the launch of Office.com, an online business service for
small- and medium-sized businesses at http://www.office.com.
A unit of Winstar, with a one-third equity stake held by CBS Corp., Office.com
is a Web destination for business-relevant content, as well as commerce,
community, and communications services from best-of-breed partners and
in-house experts, according to the company.

“Helping thousands of professionals across dozens of industries find
useful information and tools to get their jobs done is a serious and complex
undertaking,” said Stuart B. Rekant, president of Winstar New Media Company,
Inc. “Office.com delivers completely integrated, relevant, and comprehensive
content and services for the business customer that are unmatched on the
Web today.”

The site features free access to news and information spanning nearly
150 industries and professions. Office.com utilizes a three-tiered revenue
model of deep advertising sponsorships, transactional revenue from e-commerce
sales of goods and services, and i-commerce sales of premium information.

“There’s no margin for error when it comes to customer loyalty on the
Web. That’s why each of our partners underwent a rigorous best-of-breed
vetting process,” said Jeffrey S. Cutler, Office.com’s senior vice president
and general manager. “Not only will businesspeople find the site compelling
from a content perspective, but also a standout in terms of ease-of-use.
We look forward to a long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationship with
all of our partners.”

According to the announcement, many Office.com features were created
based on research and testing among the site’s target audiences. Prospects
were involved with all phases of development, providing in-depth assessments
of their current Internet use, as well as their “wish lists” of new tools
and resources that would enhance their businesses’ operations.

According to the announcement, Office.com’s proprietary Universal Business
Search engine powers the site’s Fast Find feature—returning only the most
relevant, business-focused information from a diverse set of resources,
including the site’s own expert writers and producers; carefully selected
and organized third-party information; and sites from the Web.

Within Office.com’s Business Management sections, interactive Business
Tools provide how-to guidance on a variety of business matters. Assessment
Tools in the Office.com SmartShop and Communications e-commerce areas take
users through complex purchasing decisions step-by-step, to help simplify
and speed up the buying process.

“Office.com embodies Winstar’s ‘Brave New Business’ vision,” said William
J. Rouhana Jr., Winstar’s chairman and CEO. “We want to make the Internet,
which is today’s version of the broadband network, relevant and useful
to small- and medium-sized businesses. With Office.com’s unmatched depth
of content and ease-of-use, any size business can take full advantage of
cutting-edge communications, tools, content, and commerce via the Internet
today—with an eye toward their business growth tomorrow.”